9.WhaT WAS LONDON LIKE IN SHAKESPEARE’S ENGLAND? WHAT WAS SOUTHWARK OR THE SOUTH BANK LIKE IN SHAKESPEARE’S ENGLAND? WHAT WAS ITS REPUTATION? WHAT WAS LONDON BRIDGE? WHAT ROLE DID IT PLAY IN SHAKESPEARE’S ENGLAND? Nico DThe city of London was known as what Anthony Burgess the author of “Shakespeare” would call, “a crammed commercial huddle that smells the river. Almost everything in London depended on the river Thames. The river was used for transportation, trade, and even punishment. Criminals were often chained to the banks of the river and had to survive the washing of three tides. However people during Elizabethan times had a hard time bridging it; the only thing they accomplished building was London Bridge. The streets of London were very narrow, made of cobblestone, and smelled bad. Houses were squished and compacted together making many secret alley ways. There was a lack of sewage and draining system so the streets were often full of garbage and excretory material. Southwark, London was a small developing town that consisted of crowded tenements and apartments. This area was the home of industries like tanneries. Southwark had a big influence in some of Shakespeare’s plays; whenever he had a tavern scene his characters were based those of Southwark.
Harrison, William. The Description of England. The Classic Contemporary Account of Tudor
Social Life. Washington D.C: The Folger Shakespeare Library, 1994. Print.
Rowse, A.L. The Elizabethan Renaissance. The Life of the Society. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. Print.
Toht, Betony. Cities through Time. Daily Life in Ancient and Modern London. Minneapolis: Runestone Press, 2001. Print.
Nico DThe city of London was known as what Anthony Burgess the author of “Shakespeare” would call, “a crammed commercial huddle that smells the river. Almost everything in London depended on the river Thames. The river was used for transportation, trade, and even punishment. Criminals were often chained to the banks of the river and had to survive the washing of three tides. However people during Elizabethan times had a hard time bridging it; the only thing they accomplished building was London Bridge. The streets of London were very narrow, made of cobblestone, and smelled bad. Houses were squished and compacted together making many secret alley ways. There was a lack of sewage and draining system so the streets were often full of garbage and excretory material. Southwark, London was a small developing town that consisted of crowded tenements and apartments. This area was the home of industries like tanneries. Southwark had a big influence in some of Shakespeare’s plays; whenever he had a tavern scene his characters were based those of Southwark.
Works Cited
Burgess, Anthony, and . "The City of London." Life in Elizabethan England. N.p., 2008. Web. 2 Apr 2010. http://www.elizabethan.org/compendium/27.html.
Harrison, William. The Description of England. The Classic Contemporary Account of Tudor
Social Life. Washington D.C: The Folger Shakespeare Library, 1994. Print.
Rowse, A.L. The Elizabethan Renaissance. The Life of the Society. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. Print.
Toht, Betony. Cities through Time. Daily Life in Ancient and Modern London. Minneapolis: Runestone Press, 2001. Print.